How could the FMCSA stop the practice of hiring non-english-speaking drivers?
30 years ago or so, I thought no one in this country hired illegal aliens except for homeowners or small businesses.
Any company of any size would surely know the cost of doing so might be too much to risk. Then, in about 2001 or 2002, I became aware of a common practice in large companies to hire entry-level employees who provided a social security number, only checking the SSN for validity periodically or randomly. And, when the HR department said to the 1st-line supervisor, “the SSN provided by Sally Smith is invalid” or something of the sort, the employee was given a few days to provide another SSN. An employee might have any number of SSNs, and if the latest one was proven to be false, they would just provide another one. It became my opinion then that employers are NOT punished for hiring people who are in the country illegally. Sometimes illegal aliens are punished (though not often) . . . again this is in the early 2000 – 2010-time frame, but employers benefited from the practice and were not punished for it.
I could be wrong, but this is how I came to understand the situation during that time frame.
Similarly, a lot of truck drivers are in the country illegally and cannot speak English. Lately, we’ve heard a lot about drivers getting their CDLs downgraded because, as we all know, if you can’t speak English, you aren’t qualified to drive a CMV in the US. But I haven’t heard anything about companies being punished for hiring them.
Maybe that will be changing soo. A couple days ago, I read an article in one of the trades quoting the new DOT Director and the FMCSA Administrator stating the FMCSA plans to prosecute motor carriers who hire drivers that don’t speak English at all or well enough, (or are otherwise unqualified).
He didn’t get into specifics, though. If, every time a driver was placed out of service because he does not meet the requirements of FMCSR 391.11(b)(2), the motor carrier got a notice of claim or claim notice in the mail exacting a $560 fine for 1st offense, $1,100 for the second offense, and so on, maybe motor carriers would stop doing it.
For reference, here is the rule: “A person shall not drive a commercial motor vehicle unless he/she is qualified. . .a motor carrier shall not require or permit a person to drive a commercial motor vehicle unless that person is qualified. . . a person is qualified to drive a motor vehicle if he/she— . . . Can read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, to understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, to respond to official inquiries, and to make entries on reports and records. . .”
The problem, as I see it, is twofold: 1) While the FMCSA does seem to be doing something with drivers who are unqualified, I haven’t heard about motor carrier enforcement being stepped up. That doesn’t mean it isn’t happening; I just haven’t heard about it.
2) The FMCSA still hasn’t published a definition of what it takes to speak English sufficiently.
Each motor carrier needs to have a system to select, hire, train and supervise drivers. If you need help to make sure you have a system that complies with the FMCSRs in this area, let us know. We can help you get set up. If you are thinking about “outsourcing” your driver qualification files, please send us an email asking this question: “Why is it that Mike always tells people to NOT try to outsource this important function?” . . . I will explain to you why that is not a smart move. If you need one or two people to be trained in the basic skills needed to ensure compliance with the FMCSRs, consider sending them to one of our seminars.
If you have other questions, send us an email; we may have just the answer you need.
